David Stern was one of six recipients of the W.E.B. Du Bois medal in a ceremony at Harvard’s Sanders Theater yesterday. It was part of the university’s celebration of their new Hutchins Center for African & African American Research. Harvard grad Glenn H. Hutchins, whose foundation’s $30 million donor donation made the center possible, presided over the ceremony with Henry Louis Gates Jr. Steven Spielberg and Valerie B. Jarrett, President Obama’s senior advisor, were also among those honored.
Harvard University on the W.E.B. Du Bois medal:
Awarded since 2000, the Du Bois Medal is Harvard’s highest honor in the field of African and African American Studies. It is awarded to individuals in the U.S. and across the globe in recognition of their contributions to African American culture and the life of the mind. Recipients have included scholars, artists, writers, journalists, philanthropists, and administrators whose work has bolstered the field of African and African American Studies.
Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell was chosen to introduce Stern before he accepted his medal. Russell stepped onstage to say a few words about Stern, “praising him for the league’s massive community-service efforts during his time as commissioner” according to the Harvard Crimson’s story.
Here are some photos from the event courtesy of Sina:
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